Device for the attachment of lamps to motor vehicles



Inventor Fred McDuff Sella/rs] y KTMMW 55mm. Sam/ELM Attorney '2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 F M D SELLARS DEVICE FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF LAMPS TO MOTOR VEHICLES Oct. 1, 1952 Flled Jan. 5 1950 Oct. 7, 1952 F. Mcn'sELLARs 2,613,052

DEVICE FOR THE ATTACHMENT 0F LAMPS TO MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 5, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fig.6.

In uenlor Fred WW 56am B @MwW Rm amma;

Attorney Patented Oct. 7, 1952 DEVICE FOR THE ATTACHMENT or LAMPS a o MOTOR VEHICLES I Fred McDuft Sellars, Rochdale, England Application January 5, 1950, Serial No. 136,870 In Great Britain February 3, 1949 This invention relates to devices for the attachment of lamps to motor and other power propelled vehicles and has for its main object to provide a construction of device which enables supplementary lamps, such as spotlight lamps and reversing lamps to be quickly and easily fitted to motor vehicles without requir ing the drilling of fixing holes and theremoval of fixing means andwhich enables the lamps to be set with their light beams at different heights and pointing in different directions, whilst being free from shake or material vibration in use and enabling the lamps to be attached and adjusted preferably with the aid of only one small key.

According to my invention a device for the attachment of a lamp, particularly a supplementary lamp to a motor or other power propelled vehicle comprises a three-part, clamp applicable to a bar on the vehicle, and a pillar carried. by and slidable and rotatable. on the clamp, the pillar being adapted to have the lamp mounted on it.

The three-part clamp preferably comprises a jaw of channel section having a lug in which the pillar is slidable and rotatable. a second separate jaw of channel section whose ends are directed inwards to engage the back of the first jaw, and ,a clamping screw engaging a screwthreaded hole in the second jaw and a boss on the second jaw, a screw being provided on the lug for fixing the pillar. l i

The screws preferably have in their ends axial, flat sided holes'of the same size for engagement by a single small key whereby the screws can be tightened and slackened.

The pillar preferably has at its end an offset platform provided with a hole to receive a screwthreaded lamp spigot. The hole may have a removable bush, associated therewith for adapting the hole to a screw-threaded lamp spigot of smaller diameter. T

I attain. the said objectby the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein.

Figure 3 is a side view of a detail and illusl 2 Claims. (Cl. 248-214J Figure 6 is a plan view of Figure 5 i Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan view insection of a detail and illustrates a modification.

Referring to the drawings, in the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2;acylindrical hollow pillar has at itsupper end a fixed arm 2 forming a'platform for a spotlightlamp (not shown). The arm has a vertical hole 3 to receive the vertical, screw-threaded spigot usually provided on the lamp for, attachment purposes. A loose bush 4 fitting the hole 3 is providedfor use in the hole 3 where the spigot provided on the lamp is of substantially smaller diameter than the hole 3. The lamp is secured on the arm by a nut screwed onto the S'pigot at the underside of the arm 2, a washer beingprovided between the nut and the said underside;

The pillar I is slidable and rotatable in a vertical hole 5 in a lug 6. The lug 6 is split at 1 from top to bottom and has two ears Band 9 respectively at the sides of the-split. The lug 8 has a clearance hole In and the lug 9 a screw-threaded hole II for a screw [2 which has a head l3 provided with a hexagonal axial hole M to receive a hexagonal key. After the pillar has been adjusted up or down or circularly in the lug 6 it can be fixed to the lug by tightening the screw I2 by means of the keyand thereby causing the split lug to clamp the pillar.

The lug 5 is provided on a jaw l5 which has ahorizontal channel It to accommodate one of the bars arranged horizontally with its wider sides vertical and employed on a vehicle to attach bumpers thereto, a portion of one such bar being shown by way of example and marked l1.

The channel 16 is sufiiciently wide andfdeep to accommodate the largest size of bar usually employed. The floor of the channel IE is vertical. The jaw l5 formsone jaw of a clamp the other jaw of which is separate and has opposed, inwardly directed flanges I9 slid lat erally into channels 28 provided behind the jaw l5.so

as to be hooked round the jaw is. and engage shoulders 2| on the back of the jaw I5. The separate jaw [8 base. horizontal screw threaded hole 22 which extends through a boss .23,pro-

vided on the outer side of the jaw l8 and is furnished with a cla mping' screw 24.. l l

The screw 24 has a hexagonal, axial hole 25 in its outer end to receive thefsame key as is employed to rotate the screw [2, the. hole and key being of relatively small size.

To attach the lamp, the jaw I5 is placed and held on the bumper securing bar I! so that the 1001111801; it from the bumper or the vehicle.

- in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 2, so that the floor of its channel faces the other vertical face of the bar I! and is thereupon moved sideways towards and onto the jaw l5 so that its flanges ,,I9*engage the channels 253 behind the jaw l5 and it therefore cannot leave the jaw l5. The clamping screw 24 is then tightened and its inner end thereby forced against the second named vertical face of the bar I! to clamp the jaws I5 and I8 to the bar IT. The lamp is then mounted on the arm 2 and the pillar I adjusted vertically and circularly to throw the light beam of the lamp in the desired direction and .at the desired direction and at the desired elevation. The screw I2 is then tightened to secure the pillar l in the adjusted position.

The hereinbefore described device renders it unnecessary todrill ahole in the bar ll or dis- It enableslamps of different makes, aftermountin .on-the-arm 2 to beattached to'bars of differ- .:ent dimensions without structural.- alterations and also makes it easy for an unskilled person to zattachrand adjust the position of the lampwith the-use only of a-singlesmall key. It furthermore-provides. astrong and firmattachment of such robu-stness that the lamp does not shake or vibrate materially and therefore has 'a steady beam when the vehicle is travelling.

Thedevice can be applied with equal facility to the'front or rearof the vehicle for attachment of a spotlightlamp to serve as a spotlight or a .reversing light.

For attachmentto a vertical bar provided on a vehicle, for example the vertical bar 26, Figures .3 and :4, the lug B and jaw [5 of the device is replaced by a lug 21 with jaw 28 a bar channel $29 'of which is parallel With a hole 30 provided .-in the lug 21 for engagement with the pillar I. The -lug-21 :is split at 3,! and has ears 32 and a headed screw 33 similar to the screw l2 and serv- --ing.to .clamp'the lug 21 to the pillar l. The jaw .form similar to the pillar .I with platform 2 of Figure 1, for connection to the lamp. The pillar 3B is slidable and rotatable in a vertical hole in a split lug. 31 having a screw 38 wherebyit canibe tightened to grip the pillar 36 in the ad- ,justedlposition. The lug31 is provided on a jaw '39 having a channel 4|] to receive the bar 35. The floor of the channel 40 is horizontal and therefore at rightangles to the pillar 36. The

jaw 39 has slots 4! to accommodate inwardly projecting fianges 42 of a separate jaw 43 and "formshoulders 44 for engagement by the flanges '42. The jaw 43'.hasa clamping screw 45 whereby the bar 40 'can be clamped between the jaws 39 and 43 after the ,jaw 43 has been slid laterally "into position on the jaw 39.

In all the hereinbefore described constructions, instead of a split lug to receive the pillar and a screw for clamping the lug on the pillar, a non-split lug may be provided having a hole to receive the pillar, and a set screw may be provided on the lug to secure the pillar in its adjusted position in the hole.

Another alternative means of securing the pillar in its adjusted position consists of a nonsplit lug 46 provided on the clamp and having :a cross hole 41 which breaks into the hole 48 in which the pillar is mounted. The cross hole 41 contains a slidable bush 49 having an axial screwthreaded hole 50 and a slidable bush 5| having an axial clearance hole 52. The bushes have recesses 53 to accommodate the pillar. A headed screw 54 extends through the bush 5| and screws into the'bush '49. A washer 55 is interposed between the head '56 of the screw 54 and the lug 46. By screwing the screw 54 tight, the bush 49 is caused to press against the pillar at its recess .53 and thereby clamp the pillar to th elug 46. This .device ensures great strength of security -.ofl.the

pillarirrespective of whetherthe lugisnf-soft metal or not.

I claim: I I v1. .A device for the'attachment ofuadamp to a bar of a power propelled vehicle-comprising a jaw of channel section, a lug .on the said. jaw

and'having ahole, a .pil1ar.. slidable;and rotatable in the said holea second, separate jaw of channel sectlon, inwardly directed flanges on the second jaw for engagement .with the back -of the first named jaw, a boss on the second jaw, the

second jaw and boss having a screwthreadedmole, a clamping screw engaging the screwthreaded hole for clamping .the engaged jaws to the .bar.

pillar, and a headed screwextending through the slecondnamedbushand screwed intothe first named bush for forcing the second named bush into binding contact with the pillar and thereby securing the pillar against rotating and slidin inthe clamp.

FRED MCDUFF SEIJLARS.

REFERENCES CITED p The following references are of record in the file of this patent: v

'UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 4 Date,

1,911,380 McFarlin 'May .30, 193.3 2,294,040 Metcalf :Al1g. 25,1942

FOREIG'N PATENTS I I Number Countryj .Date 

